Lullaby
by avalon01k
Summary: After transferring schools, Kijinami Eiji successfully warded off any hope of friendship with his bright hair and tough demeanour. The only one brave enough to approach him was Aoharu Yumi, a girl who shares his problems of being a misfit. Immediately they feel drawn to each other. Two months later, they are both struggling with issues; but can they get through it together?
1. Chapter 1: Where It All Began

Eiji-kun grinned as he caught sight of me jogging towards the train platform - the usual place we would meet before taking the train to school together.

"There you are Aoharu-san," he was desperately trying to sound miffed at my almost lateness. Our train left at 8:00 and it was 7:50 now. I hadn't meant to be this late, but I'd been up all night studying and drifted off only to be rudely awoken by Onii-san.

I stopped in front of my best friend, doubled over, exhausted. Eiji-kun clicked his tongue, "Jeez, even I never cut it this close. What would you have done if the train had left early?"

I froze and slowly brought my eyes up to meet his, "Does that happen?"

"It might one day," he said.

" _ **Would all passengers on the Sakuragaoka platform please board the train?"**_

Eiji-kun raised his eyebrows pointedly as other students and adults surged forward towards the open train doors, "See? If you'd have been any later then you'd have missed it."

I smiled apologetically, " _Gomen ne_ , Eiji-kun."

He looked a little surprised as I apologised, "Whatever," he mumbled, "It's no big deal I guess."

* * *

We managed to snag the last seats just in time at the very back of the train. Luckily, most of the unseated stragglers were huddled further up. giving us some breathing space. I yawned for the third time, wiping away the tired tears that leaked from my eyes.

Eiji-kun noticed this and snorted, "What's wrong? Look at you, yawning with that big mouth of yours - I guess you're tired."

I nodded, resisting the urge to yawn again. He grinned at me, "You probably stayed up too late again, huh? Bet you were reading manga."

I couldn't suppress the next yawn, "Mmm, I was studying."

A flash of panic crossed his eyes, "Huh? Studying?"

I nodded, "For the test today."

The panic flared up and he grabbed at his head, "I forgot!" He exclaimed, "I was supposed to do an English worksheet!"

He sighed, "I've messed up."

I smiled at his outburst. This was so like him to forget. Still, thanks to my all-nighter, I'd manage to complete the worksheet that he was talking about - with great difficulty. I doubted it was something that he'd be able to do on the train.

"You can copy mine if you like," I offered, reaching for my bag. He stopped in the middle of his panicking and studied me carefully.

"Copy yours?" He looked tempted for a moment but sighed and looked away, "No, it's okay. I mean... what if you get in trouble too... when I get found out. That teacher's super scary."

 _If_ you get found out, I wanted to say. But his expression seemed so thoughtful and foreign to me that the words never made it out of my mouth. We'd been friends for 2 months now, ever since he transferred to our school in September, when he'd stridden into our class with bright hair and introduced himself with as much toughness as he could. That seemed to be enough to scare off most of our classmates, but I still remember how fidgety and nervous he seemed when he stepped into the classroom. It was clear to me now: Eiji-kun might try to act tough, but in reality he really did care about the people close to him.

I realised I was still watching him.

He looked annoyed, "What? Why do you keep staring at me? Is there something on my face?"

I shrugged, "I just think you're nice."

His eyes widened and his cheeks went pink, "HUH! I'm _nice?_ What are you talking about?" He turned away, sulking, "If you mock me I'll hit you."

"Fine then," I said, a little hurt by the dismissal of my compliment, "If that's how you want to treat your friend then maybe I just won't bother being one." I only half meant it but he immediately swing around, holding his hands up in a truce, "I'm kidding! I'm kidding - I promise I won't hit you." He looked straight ahead, but I could tell he was deep in thought, "I actually really appreciate you." The comment made me feel warm and ticklish.

He sighed, "You were the only one that wasn't scared of me, and talked to me when I first transferred." His hands raked through his messy red hair.

"I didn't want to lose to you city folk so I tried too hard and dyed my hair red. But... no one else was like that - even the teacher called me a punk."

I nodded sympathetically, remembering that day very well. On that day, Eiji-kun had looked as lost as me.

He rubbed his hands together, "But you... were the only one who didn't care, and talked to me. That's why... I haven't given up and still come to school." The sudden confession made my cheeks warm and I couldn't stop a small smile from showing on my face. _I didn't realise that that day meant as much to him as it did to me. We're the only friend the other has got..._

He blushed crimson when he caught sight of me, "What the heck am I babbling on about?" He went back to desperately clutching his head - this time in embarrassment. I laughed, the sound clear and bright over the dull monotone of the train. Eiji-kun met my eyes, "Go to sleep you - you're tired aren't you?"

"Huh?" I noticed then that my eyes were struggling to stay open. I really did want to sleep, but...

He caught on to my hesitation, "Don't worry and go to sleep. I'll wake you up when we get there." I nodded gratefully, " _Arigatou_ Eiji-kun." I stretched my arms and lowered my head, eyelids drooping. A sudden jolt made me jump up and my friend sighed, gesturing for me to use his shoulder as a pillow. Shyly, I did as he said, and drifted off just as he mumbled somthing under his breath. Too tired to ask what it was, I let sleep take me.

 **Hello! So this is the first Makura no Danshi story on ! I understand that the fanbase is basically non-existent but I've been wanting to write a story for Eiji ever since I first watched his episode. Luckily because the scene (most of which I have written about above) is pretty short and sweet, I have the liberty to fill in the gaps without having massive wikia pages contradicting everything I've written *cough cough* InuYasha *cough cough*. I'm not expecting many readers, if any - so please follow or favourite if you enjoyed. I'm planning on working on this for a while, and updates might be slow at first due to school work, but I have high hopes for this story, so thank you for reading! If you happen to feel like sharing the link to other places then that would really help kick-start the beginning of the Makura no Danshi community on ! Thank you!**

 **avalon01k**


	2. Chapter 2: Test Results

Two days later on Wednesday, we got our test results back. Luckily for Eiji-kun, the day he forgot to hand in his worksheet also happened to be the day that it was announced we would have a reliever for a week while Sensei recovered from a cold. Thanks to this, Eiji-kun was allowed one more day to hand in his work; which I helped him with in the library after school. That hadn't stopped him from worrying about the other English test that I'd been revising for all night.

Eiji-kun came and sat across from me at my desk, not noticing the displeased look of the student who had left her seat at his mercy.

"How'd you do, Aoharu?" He noticed that the paper was still sitting on my desk, unturned. The nerves in my stomach were bubbling and fizzing, and my hands trembled from where they were clenched on my lap. I couldn't speak, I was too tongue-tied, so I just shrugged. Eiji-kun had his own results in his hand and he pushed them towards me, "Well, considering I didn't revise at all, I could have done worse." I let myself peer at his score.

 **67.**

No doubt if he'd revised, he would have been one of the top scorers. Eiji-kun might like to act the tough delinquent, but I knew he was one of the smartest - if not _the_ smartest - person in our year. I'd noticed it when we were studying - when I helped him go through his English worksheet yesterday, he'd ended up helping _me_ more than I was helping him. Because of that, I realised just how low I would score on that worksheet, which just made me more nervous about my test score that had yet to be revealed.

Eiji-kun noticed my deadpan faced and frowned, " _Ne,_ are you alright Aoharu? You look kinda pale."

"Really?" I felt pale. I felt thin and fragile and wispy - as though I would fade away at any moment. Recently I'd been feeling under the weather too, although I hadn't mentioned that to anyone. I'd been pulling all-nighters more recently as finals were coming up at the end of this month. Good - no, _excellent_ \- test scores were crucial for me, and then after that, I would have entrance exams for high school in January. I hadn't told Eiji-kun just how much pressure I had been put under; it felt like an awkward topic to breach, even for someone as understanding as him. I'd rather not trouble him with things like that. This was my problem after all.

"Aoharu? Aoharu? Oi Aoharu!" A hand on my shoulder jolted me back to reality. Eiji-kun looked worried.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright? Should you go to the infirmary?" I shook my head and smiled at him reassuringly, a habit I'd gotten into recently, "No, I'm seriously okay. Now then," I clapped my hands and dipped my head in silent prayer, "Time to look at these results."

I flipped my test over quickly and relief washed over me when I read the number.

 **99.**

"No way Aoharu! You're amazing!" I blushed at the compliment and tried to slow down my heartbeat. I had been beyond nervous, but it seemed I had nothing to worry about - my all-nighter had pulled off, and if I worked hard like I had been until finals, I might just score high enough to not disappoint my family.

"I did it," I exhaled happily, " _Arigatou_ , Eiji-kun."

He looked away with a shy pout forming, "I didn't do anything."

"No, you did. Thank you for supporting me these last two months." He blushed harder, "Then do you want to go somewhere after school today?" He caught sight of my face, "Not anything weird! I just meant to hang out - we don't really hang out unless there's some test to study for or cleaning duty."

I bit my lip. I knew that mother had set a rule that I was to go straight home after school when I wasn't on duty or studying in the library. Unplanned social calls were completely off limits... but today I'd have good news to tell her... So, maybe... _Just this once would be okay_.

I nodded, "Mmmm! I'd like that."

He looked relieved, "Cool! Then you can show me around the city, right? I haven't had a chance to look around properly and it would be cool to go somewhere and not look like an idiot who's got himself lost."

I didn't have the heart to tell him that I barely knew the city either. I only knew the area around my previous schools, and my home. Oka-san never let me go into the city with friends before - not that I'd ever had the opportunity.

"That sounds nice," I nodded with a small smile.


	3. Chapter 3: Aoharu Yumi

私青春弓です。I am Yumi Aoharu.

I was born the youngest of a family of six. My mother and father had moved from Hokkaido to settle in Tokyo when I was a baby. My older twin sisters, Shiori and Mizuki were now twenty-one, at university, and my older brother Toma was in his second last year of high school. All of them were excellent students at the top of their classes, which meant that once I entered school, the same was expected of me.

Ever since I had started school, mother had drilled me of my responsibilities to my family. My performance would reflect how everyone saw the Aoharu family, so failure was an unacceptable outcome. When I was in elementary school I took part in a karuta competition and represented my school in the regionals. The day I came home, exhausted, and told my mother that my team hadn't been in the top 3, I vowed to never be a disappointment again.

And so I studied hard for every school test, no matter how minor. I trained before every sports festival, and eventually it became known that I was the smartest kid in my year. That was when the bullies found me.

At first, they just threw paper balls at me in class, which soon turned into tripping me up in hallways; stealing my things and hiding them. One time they even told the teacher I was doing their homework for money. It wasn't true, but Oka-san was furious that I was involved with such a rumour. Soon, I was withdrawn and Oka-san said she would educate me from then on, and then I would go to a private school when high school came around.

I didn't though because my father's building company was contracted with a junior high in Sakuragaoka. As a show of their goodwill, they offered any of his children to attend there with an academic scholarship that would cover my tuition fees. Oka-san had objected but ultimately, it was my father who got the final word. I was grateful for the chance to make friends at a new school. That school was Tsukiyama Junior High. And for 2 years I attended, studying harder and longer every day in the library, my only motivation being to ace every test and win every race. It was probably my own fault that I never had time to try and be social. My classmates always saw me at my desk with my head down, pen scrawling across paper constantly. Perhaps it was really no wonder that I didn't have any friends until my last year when Eiji-kun transferred.

And there was something about him, the way my classmates ignored him and laughed at his appearance, that reminded me of my past. I'd never shared my lunch with a friend, or talked about mutual interests with a friend - until Eiji-kun admitted at lunchtime on his first day that he'd been running late and as a result of rushing to school, had forgotten to bring lunch money; I still remember the way he tried to make me laugh when we ate lunch on the rooftop...

Eiji-kun is my best friend. My first friend and my only friend. My gratitude towards him is never-ending.

But...

That just makes it harder to tell him my news.


	4. Chapter 4: Forbidden Comfort

I found Eiji-kun waiting for me by the school gate, one foot resting against the school wall behind him, arms crossed. He hadn't seemed to have noticed the small group of first years that had huddled together, whispering and giggling; occasionally throwing longing gazes his way. The sight made me surprisingly irritated - he wasn't just some tsundere manga character to be taken as a challenge by every girl (or boy) in the vicinity.

I huffed and quickly hurried over to him.

My irritation must have been showing on my face.

"What's wrong?"

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "Nothing."He didn't look convinced but before he could say anything else, I fixed a smile on my face.

"Shall we go?"

He grinned, " Mmm! I've saved my lunch money so that we can get something to eat. Let's go!"

* * *

Luckily for me, I was able to navigate the area around school smoothly; whenever we got on buses to go on mandatory field trips, I'd goggled over every little detail that I'd been able to see the moment we left the school. And I was also on high alert, letting my ears catch chunks of conversations from the other students walking in the street, for a clue as to where we were. So far, Eiji-kun didn't seem worried that his tour guide was darting around trying to figure out what their next move was. I was grateful for his excitement over our afternoon together. He had yet to stop talking about the things he wanted to do today and on future outings. I couldn't help but feel flattered that he wanted to spend time with me outside of school.

When we stopped at the crossing by the university, he began to ask me about our common ground: manga.

"I'm reading _Basara_ right now," I told him when he asked, "And I'd guess that you're still reading _InuYasha_ , huh?"

Eiji-kun stood up straight, "So what if I am," he asked, defensive.

"There's no need to be embarrassed," I said, amused by the way he was furiously trying not to blush, "I was just wondering when you want me to lend you the next volume."

He bowed his head, "Please bring it tomorrow."

We continued walking as soon as the light turned green. Further up was the main street and then a crepe stall that I remember mentally noting down. Hopefully, Eiji-kun would have some idea of what he wanted to do first when we got there.

I pointed at the crepe stall that sat next to a large fountain and his eyes brightened, "Crepes?" He stared at the menu and the dazzling photo examples of each filling, his eyes growing greedier as they passed over each one. He turned to me and fumbled around his pockets and bag trying to find his money. He turned back towards the menu and then nodded in my direction, "What one do you want?"

My eyes widened at the offer, "No, no! You don't need to get me one," it was then that my thoughts chose to drift back to Oka-san, and what she would do when she realised I hadn't come home yet. Should I have called her before I left school? But then she might have insisted that I come home - or worse, gone and got me herself with the car.

No, it was better this way.

Something was pushed into my hands and I looked to see Eiji-kun already beginning to devour a crepe. In my hands was the same.

"Y-you _really_ shouldn't have," I stammered as he took another bite, "I don't have the money to pay you back!"

He glared at me, still chewing, "Just shut up and eat would you? These are seriously good."

I took the tiniest bite I could, but the sweet flavour of chocolate custard and strawberries still rolled over my tongue and I hummed appreciatively. We sat together on the edge of the fountain, marvelling at the deliciousness of the crepes. A few minutes past as we savoured every bite; Eiji-kun finished first, scrunching the leftover tissue into a ball and throwing it into a nearby bin with a triumphant smirk. The sweetness of the situation was enough to make me forget about my mother's reaction for one moment. Only one.

My phone began to ring.

I tensed up and drew the device out of my bag, hesitating slightly before answering: " _Moshimoshi."_

"Yumi!" The voice of my mother made my hands shake. She sounded angry.

"Oka-san," I said. Eiji-kun looked at me curiously but I just shook my head and looked at the ground. This conversation wasn't going to go well.

"Where are you?" She demanded to know, "Why aren't you on the train?"

My surprise voiced itself before I could suppress it, "How do you know I'm not on the train?"

"Shiori called me and said she saw you walking past the university... with a boy. You had better explain yourself very quickly." Her tone was warning and I knew that she was one wrong comment away from exploding. She was not kind when she was disobeyed. Not even a good test score could stow her wrath when it was unleashed. I had to explain the best I could.

"Uh, I'm with a classmate from school. I received good news today and he offered to buy us crepes to celebrate," I gulped.

"And who is this classmate?"

"Kijinami Eiji. He transferred to the school in September."

The line went quiet, but I could hear her thinking on the other end. I took the opportunity to try and give a reassuring smile to my confused friend.

"Come home immediately," Oka-san said, "We'll talk about this when you return."

"Of course, Oka-san."

"And tell that transfer student that he is not to disrupt your studies again. He is to stay away from you - do you understand?"

My fingers tightened on my phone as the words sunk in. But whatever my own feelings, I knew I didn't have the willpower to defy my mother or my family. I nodded, "Yes, Oka-san."

"Good. Now get home safely." The line went dead.

I let out the breath that I'd begun to hold in and tucked my phone away, feeling resigned. The sweetness of the crepe had vanished, leaving me to feel bitter and cold. Eiji-kun had to call out to me multiple times before I heard him.

"Who was that?" He asked, "What it your mum? Is she mad at you?"

I thought about explaining my situation, the reason I had to study so hard, and why my family never seemed concerned at my lack of social life, but the idea vanished the moment I thought of it. This was my problem after all, and talking about it would just make it sound like I was complaining about having an over-attentive mother like everyone else. Not wanting to sound spoiled I just shook my head.

"It's fine," I said, "She was just worried because I didn't tell her I was coming here with you beforehand."

He looked relieved, "Oh. That's good then. Do'ya have to go home now then?"

"Yeah. My sister will be making sure I walk back past the university." I'd expected him to ask about the sister that I'd never mentioned before now, but he let it slide.

"Alright! Guess we're going to the station then."

* * *

The walk to the station was silent. For whatever reason, I suddenly lost my ability to speak - even words of reassurance that nothing was wrong and that this was all perfectly normal. I desperately hoped that Oka-san wouldn't remember her order to have me tell him to leave me alone. He was my only friend, so telling him to get lost was unthinkable. Whatever her reasons were; whatever purpose she wanted me to serve once I graduated high school, I couldn't let her take away this one thing. Just thinking about it made my head spin.

I was so busy thinking that it was no wonder I found myself in trouble once boarding the train began. Strangers from all sides pushed and squeezed and crushed me. Something grabbed my hand and guided me through the worst of it, and when it finally thinned out, Eiji-kun and I doubled over, collapsing into our usual seats.

"Thanks," I gasped, closing my eyes to try and block out everything. I was painfully aware that he was still holding my hand and it felt warmer compared to the rest of my shivering body - my own fault for not bringing a jacket to keep me warm. His hand was softer than I thought it would be and very hot. Against my cool skin, it calmed me down.

I slowly opened my eyes.

Eiji-kun was frowning at me.

I found my tongue just in time, "Huh? What is it?"

He snorted, " _What is it?_ You've been acting weird all day. I thought it was because of the test results at first, but ever since I suggested hanging out after school you've been super on edge like you were doing something you knew you weren't supposed to be doing."

I opened my mouth to protest, but already I knew it was impossible. He'd found me out.

He took my silence as further confirmation.

" _Baka,_ " He muttered, "If you knew you weren't allowed to hang out you should've told me."

I bit my lip. My voice barely came out, "But you looked so excited. And I really wanted to." Eiji-kun looked away, but his hand squeezed mine. We stayed like that for the rest of the way, reluctantly letting go when we stepped onto the train platform and said our goodbyes.

" _Ja ne,_ Aoharu," he waved and turned away.

" _Mata ne._ " I followed his form with my eyes until he melted into the crowd.


	5. Chapter 5: Expectations

Just as I thought, when I returned home and shared news of my test results, Oka-san still was not appeased.

"Your score was 99?" I nodded in confirmation, eyes boring a hole into the tatami mat.

She made a small noise, "So you made a mistake? If you were able to get a 99 then there should be no reason why you couldn't have scored one more point, is there?"

Oka-san was staring at me expectantly, waiting for me to agree. She was a stern woman with her dark hair always pulled into a tight bun at the back of her head. Our household was a traditional one and we all wore kimonos when we returned from business in the city; asides from her, who was always at home tending the house and making sure that the servants ran everything perfectly. We were a well-off family - some might even consider us rich - but while I appreciated the extra food and the luxurious rooms with beautiful rice paper screens, it didn't change the fact that even when I was home, I had to act a certain way.

What did it feel like to relax?

"I'll work harder, Oka-san," I bowed my head low, "I promise."

She watched me, mouth in a hard line, "Be sure to it that you do. And make sure you stay away from that Kijinami boy. I knew the name sounded familiar. His mother was jailed for dealing drugs in August, and his father's well known for being an alcoholic. He drinks on the same block as your father's colleagues. No doubt this boy will be just like them."

My stomach churned, angry at Oka-san's assumption. Eiji-kun was my best friend!

He'd never told me about his family, although I hadn't mentioned mine either so it was exactly unusual. It could be that Oka-san was just wrong; maybe there was another Kijinami family in these parts.

I said nothing, knowing that it would be my funeral if I did. Oka-san was scary when she was angry, and right now she was practically normal. I'd gotten off easy if this was all I was subjected to.

I excused myself, making up something about having extra English homework.

"Make sure you do it properly," Oka-san said, "You know how important it will be in the future."

I nodded glumly, thinking of the plans my family had made for me before I'd even been born. My sisters were studying German, Spanish and Politics at university, dancing to the tune my parents played for them. My older brother would be expected to study English like myself, and study abroad in America.

And once I graduated, I would be expected to study in England, and carve a path into politics from there. Giving my family name a good reputation; that was the duty of the Aoharu children. Nevermind that I was completely disinterested in politics and foreign languages. I'd much rather draw manga or be an idol or be a shrine maiden. Arranged marriages would inevitably enter the picture soon too. It had never been mentioned, but I wouldn't be surprised. Our family had 3 daughters ready to be traded off for connections to powerful families, so why wouldn't they be exploited?

I sighed, stepping towards my room, _Why couldn't I just be normal?_


End file.
